The vessel prostheses normally employed in surgical management are white or black in color. In the particular case of textile vessel prostheses, the white-colored appearance is produced and/or enhanced by so-called “white pigments,” for example, titanium dioxide. The black coloration of vessel prostheses is frequently produced by a coating with pyrolytic carbon. Besides these, gray and brown colored vessel prostheses are also employed, and their colors are attributable in particular to appropriate silver salt coatings.
A disadvantage of known colored vessel prostheses is that three-dimensional identifiability by the surgeon is in some cases only moderate, for example, in the context of endoscopic operations and checks. Further disadvantages may derive from a suboptimal suture adjustment with non-uniform stitch lengths and distances, whereby it is possible for the risks of inadequate anchoring of the prosthesis at the implantation site to be increased.
It could therefore be advantageous to provide a colored vessel prosthesis which improves identifiability by the surgeon compared with known vessel prostheses and allows manipulation (handling) intended to be as simple and uncomplicated as possible.